Crandell v. Larkin and Jones Appliance Co.

On February 4, 1978, Gloria Crandell (plaintiff) bought a used clothes dryer for $100 from Larkin and Jones Appliance Co. (Larkin) (defendant). The dryer had been displayed on Larkin’s sales floor as a “reconditioned unit,” but it was also marked “guaranteed.” Larkin’s sales representative told Crandell the dryer had a 90-day guarantee on workmanship, labor, and parts. Crandell asserted that she purchased the dryer based on the guarantee and the $100 price. Shortly after purchase, Crandell noticed that the dryer had overheated a load of clothing, so she turned the heat dial to a lower setting and continued to use the dryer. A few weeks later, on February 18, 1978, Crandell was drying a blanket in the dryer when it began smoking and flames came out the front. Crandell called the fire department. By the time the fire department arrived, there was significant damage to the utility room, and there had been smoke damage to other areas of the house. In all, the damages exceeded $25,000. Fire personnel testified that the sole cause of the fire was an ignition inside the dryer; however, other experts testified that when the blanket was dried, it became so hot that it ignited and that was what caused the fire. Crandall’s witnesses testified that the dryer was defective in that the contact points on the thermostats were pitted and extremely deteriorated, which caused them to malfunction and the dryer to overheat. An expert testified that one of the thermostats had been inoperable for some time prior to the fire and that the thermostats were the wrong kind. The trial court refused to accept any of Crandall’s theories of recovery and granted Larkin’s motion to dismiss. Crandall appealed, claiming that the trial court should have found Larkin strictly liable and that it had breached its express and implied warranties. Crandall further argued that the trial court erred in finding that she could not recover because she did not establish that the defect caused the accident.